It is time I weigh in on the debate since it is the
question I get asked nearly every day in phone calls and emails. Everyone wants
to know which is better American bred Dobermans or
European Dobermans. By American bred I don't necessarily ,mean dogs just
born in America, I mean dogs bred to the
AKC standard, or dogs in America not bred to any standard. Nice of me to
lump them into that category huh? European Dobermans to me are dogs bred to the
FCI or international standard or their direct descendents as long as they
continue to be bred to the FCI standard. It seems funny to me that we call them
European since the FCI standard is used even in central and Southern America.
But the first thing is to understand that there is a difference between the two
standards.

The second thing to understand is that it doesn't make one
better than another, it creates preference. It does mean that one group will be
suited more to what you are after than another group. Contrary to what most
people think about me, it does not mean that I don't like American Bred dogs. In
fact two of the people that dislike me the most have the most amazing American
bred Dobermans I have ever seen. I can appreciate their beauty and their
closeness to their standard, the same way I can appreciate the beauty and grace
of Arabian horses while still preferring Quarter horses. I like to train Quarter
horses, I like to ride them, rope off them, cut with them, I like to be with
them. It is the same with Doberman Pinschers. The Arabian horse wins most every
endurance event, that is what they were created for. They are graceful,
efficient and correct in their movement, but a quarter horse is like the
American muscle car, it is just raw power waiting to explode. So is this about
Cars, or horses or
Doberman Pinschers? It is about Doberman Pinschers of course!

Examples of Champion European Dobermans:

The point I am trying to make is that the American Doberman
was bred by fanciers and breeders to evolve into a different type of dog in
type, structure and temperament than the original Doberman from Apolda Germany
was. What most people fail to understand is that the "European
Doberman" or those bred to the FCI standard also evolved to a different form
than the original Herr Doberman dog. Today's European type
Doberman Pinscher is larger and more heavily boned than it's ancestors. It's
temperament is still adequate for "Work" (by this we mean
dog sports,
personal protection,
Police work,
Search and rescue,
etc.) but it is considerably less "sharp" than its predecessor. I don't
think I would have liked the original Doberman Pinscher very much, they were
small compact muscle bound dogs with very sharp temperaments, fiercely loyal to
their owners but wary of anyone else. Many judges and handlers were bit at shows
and otherwise by these "Devil dogs" as they came to be known by the US military
when they were pressed into service with the Marine corps. They provided a more
than valuable service to our country and our soldiers, and they were perfectly
suited for their job. They saved lives, they protected lives, but they were
loyal to their handlers alone for the most part. The
European Doberman Pinscher of today is still very protective and loyal, but
much less suspicious. The American bred Doberman on the other hand as a
generalization (naturally there are exceptions) has had the working temperament
bred out of them, as a "job" was not part of their standard. In Germany the dogs
were not allowed to be bred unless the dog met the breed standard of
conformation, passed hip examinations, passed a temperament test, and at least
one parent had to have a working title such as a schutzhund title.

This is why the working traits have been preserved. Now
there is also indiscriminant breeding going on over in Europe and elsewhere but
the dog remains fundamentally different. In America I see two basic groups of
Dobermans evolving in the last 100 years. The first group is the result of the
Dobermans incredible popularity in the early 70's when they were literally mass
produced. The AKC did not have any breeding regulations, nor does it today with
regards to health, temperament or structure. They have a standard that
constantly gets revised but it is voluntary to adhere to. This first group of
people are the group I call backyard breeders. Not because the dogs are actually
bred in the back yard as I like to joust with so many people that pass out that
label, but because they don't have a clear goal and standard in mind in their
breeding program. Their motive is only to produce puppies. These are different
than the group I label as
puppy millers. Puppy mills to me are people who on a large scale produce
puppies with only a profit motive, no standard to breed to or clear program
goals, and most importantly the condition the dogs and puppies are kept in. This
one point gets me in more arguments than any other. But between the Back yard
Breeders (often abbreviated byb's) and the puppy millers often abbreviated
(pm's) they ruined what the Doberman was as well as what it became. They
produced dogs that now range from 45 pounds on up to over 120 I hear people
boast from time to time, and there is not a set of traits that really identifies
them as a group other than their coloring and the fact that they are registered
as
Doberman Pinschers. There is too much variability in the group and fails the
fundamental definition of a breed which is that "parents produce like
offspring." There is now so much variability in structure, temperament, marking
and even color that I would not call the offspring "Like" meaning the same as
the parents. There was another group in America that was breeding dogs with a
goal in mind, they are the show people. They were breeding dogs for the
conformation ring. Now I will say something here that likely will offend many
people, but it doesn't make it any less true. The goal was the structure alone
of the dog, temperament was not fussed about, nor were health traits. I know
there have been some big changes in the last few years with very good health
testing, but one of the most talked about and bred to studs not long ago also
had a history of very bad temperament, but he was gorgeous so they kept breeding
him. One of my favorite kennels despite their lack of appreciation for me :) had
wobblers in their lines and now the whole line has been retired in favor of
healthier lines now that health testing and genealogy has become more important.

The American
Doberman Pinscher is a beautiful dog and I can appreciate their elegance and
grace. In my opinion they lack the structure and power to do their original job.
The
Doberman Pinscher was the only breed of dog ever bred specifically for
personal protection. There are many breeds that do this job well, but they were
bred as multi-purpose dogs. The Doberman was created by Herr Doberman
specifically to be a companion and guard to it's owner. I have not met any
American Champion Dobermans that could adequately perform this job and if
someone has one please bring it over and shut me up as I put on the bite suit.
This to me is why I prefer the European Bred
Doberman Pinscher. They still can do the original job they were bred for. I
love the story of how the Doberman came to our nations aid in time of war not
many years ago, but if the same call came out today for Doberman Pinschers to be
war dogs, the ones America could send would be predominantly European dogs. The
AKC champions would fail us, the Back yard Bred dogs would fail us, and the
puppy mill dogs would fail us. I now understand very clearly what it takes for a
dog to actually do this kind of work, and so much of it is bred in to them.

Let's be specific about some generalizations in the breed
standard. American bred Doberman Pinschers are typically smaller over all, they
are shorter at the withers and lighter than the European Doberman. They are also
finer boned. Those physical traits make them less suited for working dog sports
that I enjoy. If they were slightly smaller and still had adequate bone they may
make better ring-sport dogs than the standard European Doberman. Very few
Dobermans do well in French ring primarily because of the palisade wall they
must scale and jump off. The typical Doberman is too heavy to jump 7 to 9 feet
with all his weight on his front end and not sustain injury. The American bred
Doberman lacks the drive and temperament and is too fine boned also for this
task.

Although health testing occurs with most reputable American
Doberman Breeders now, it wasn't always the case and in my opinion we see higher
frequency of many maladies, and some others that typically do not show up in the
European dog.

So which dog is better American or European? You can see
now it comes down to what you want the dog for. They both can make great family
pets, which is what the majority of people getting Doberman puppies are
interested in. Generally the European Type Doberman Pinscher is going to be
better suited for working dog sports, but an American bred dog can still do
great with obedience, agility, flyball etc. Some even track well despite their
lack of selection for it. I did Search and Rescue with American bred Doberman
Pinschers, one was a grandson of my favorite show kennel. But doing SAR with my
European Dobermans has been much more rewarding and easier to train. I used to
pheasant hunt with my American bred Doberman Pinschers back in 1998 but I have
no doubt whatsoever that Ruby and Athena today would hunt faster with more
desire, drive and stamina. But I never did have a good protection dog from
American lines. I had some that learned the job, but none were as powerful or as
driven for the work, and if I found dogs that were, they were not as stable in
my house with children.

Both the American bred Doberman and the European Doberman
are good dogs for their intended purposes, it really does come down to
preference. You even have some people crossing the two which although not my
goal, since the gene pool is very shallow anyway, it may save the genetic health
of the breed in the long run.

Naturally my preference is and remains the European
Doberman Pinscher because of the jobs I do with them. I prefer the health,
temperament, size, structure and working ability of a European Doberman that is
why I have them, and that is why I breed them to share with other people.